Portable electronic devices such as AM/FM radios, cassette player, CD players, and MP3 players may utilize an earpiece at the end of a flexible cable to allow the user to listen to the radio or prerecorded music without disturbing surrounding people. Some earpieces also incorporate a microphone for use with a wireless phones. These earpieces come in many different sizes and configurations and are available at different price points and quality levels. Many users attach these portable electronic devices about their waistline and listen through the earpiece. The earpiece is coupled to the portable electronic devices with a predetermined length of cable.
A problem with these earpieces is that no one predetermined length of cable is right for each user and activity. In order to ensure there is enough cable length for every person and activity, the manufacturers typically provide an overly long cable. If a user finds that the length of cable is too long for his or her activity, the user must somehow reduce the amount of slack. The user can eliminate the slack by wrapping a portion of the cable around the electronic device until the appropriate length of cable remains or the user can coil the cable leaving an appropriate length of cable and secure the coil with tape or string. Both of these known methods do not allow the user the freedom to easily adjust the length of dispensed cable. The winding of the cable around the electronic device or into a coil can stress the wires inside the cable that may eventually lead to failure.
When the earpiece is not in use, the user must find a convenient location to store the earpiece and the associated length of cable. Often the user stores the earpiece in his or her pocket. If the earpiece is used in conjunction with a wireless phone and the user receives an incoming call, the user must quickly locate the earpiece and connect it to the phone in order to answer the call.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,805 entitled “Retractable Reel Assembly for Telephone Extension Cable” discloses a housing, which is adapted to be mounted to a wall in proximity to a telephone or telephone jack for utilization with either wall, mounted or table mounted telephones respectively. This device has a ratchet for selectively restraining rotation of the reel in one direction. The user can reel out an appropriate length of cable and then slowly release the cable to enable the locking mechanism. To recoil the cable, the user tugs on the cable and releases. The spring inside the housing then pulls the cable into the housing. A problem with this type of locking mechanism is that the mechanism is often difficult to engage. Another problem with a system like this is if the user accidentally tugs on the cable and releases, the cable will be uncontrollably recoiled into the housing. A further problem with systems like this is that the amount of dispensed cable is not infinitely selectable because the ratchet mechanism only has a fixed quantity of selectable positions.
A cable retractor for use with a cell phone is available from Safetone, Inc. of Fremont, Calif. The cable retractor includes an enclosure with a clip for attaching to a user's belt. An earpiece with a speaker is located at the end of a retractable cable. On the cable several inches from the speaker is a microphone. The retractor can be electrically connected to a cell phone with a separate, non-retractable cable. A drawback to this retractor is the cable retractor is a separate physical enclosure that cannot be mechanically coupled to the cell phone and the retractor takes up additional space on a user's belt or about their waistline. The non-retractable cable between the cell phone and the retractor can also get in the user's way.